Hiep Tran

Tran Hiep, also known as Ho Pham Hiep Huy, has built his life around a simple but powerful commitment: using his skills, his voice, and his platform to uplift others.

Hiep is a graduate of Melbourne High School, one of Australia’s most prestigious academically selective public high schools, known for its strong academic tradition and distinguished alumni.

He built a successful corporate career as a data analyst with major Australian companies, including Telstra and National Australia Bank, after earning his IT degree from Monash University.

But his true calling has always been about people.

Hiep’s journey in community advocacy began during his university years, when he organized workshops and cultural events with the Vietnamese Student Association in Victoria, helping new students find a sense of belonging and community.

Over the past two decades, that commitment to supporting others has grown into a steadfast defense of fundamental human rights.

Through his work with the Em Viet group, Hiep supported vulnerable young people facing complex challenges.

In 2007, driven by a deep sense of moral responsibility, he co-founded the Australian Alliance to Combat Human Trafficking and served as its Public Officer, helping bring attention to the trafficking of young Vietnamese girls across Southeast Asia.

His Catholic faith and passion for music have also been important parts of his life.

For many years, he served in his church choir and played multiple instruments. He sees his work not simply as advocacy, but as a personal responsibility and a form of service to his community.

Since joining Viet Tan in 2004, Hiep has spent more than 20 years traveling across Southeast Asia to stand alongside human rights defenders, document their journeys, and help equip civil society leaders with essential skills in digital security and leadership. Whether through community organizing or digital advocacy, Hiep continues to champion religious freedom, democratic change, and social dignity for Vietnamese communities at home and around the world.

Hiep’s wife, Chloe Dang, says she is proud of him. “He’s been a human rights activist long before we met each other,” she said, describing a regular life of working, fixing things around their home in Melbourne’s west, and fishing and camping together on weekends. "We always do everything together."

Tran Hiep and fellow Viet Tan member Nguyen Duc Thuan flew to Phnom Penh on September 15 to meet Vietnamese human rights activists. They were in regular contact with their families until the morning of September 18, after which neither could be reached.

On September 28, Vietnam’s Ministry of Public Security announced that the two men and a third man, Thai Cong Truong Son, had been arrested on September 18 while "trying to cross illegally from Cambodia into Vietnam". The ministry accused them of terrorism and of forging seals and documents.

Viet Tan affirms the two men never intended to enter Vietnam and were abducted in Cambodia and forcibly taken across the border.

On October 15, officials from the Australian Consulate-General visited Tran Hiep, and he twice told them he had been kidnapped in Cambodia. According to the Consulate-General’s report, Hiep reiterated that he “never entered or crossed the Vietnam border on his own” and that he “remained terrified and traumatised from being attacked and kidnapped in Cambodia.”

Human rights groups have condemned the abduction of the three men by Vietnamese authorities and are calling for their immediate release.